The Labor Department is set to release December employment figures on Friday, and some industry experts predict things will be looking up.

Some expect the report will show that employers added as many as 50,000 jobs – enough to end 23 straight months of net job losses but not enough to lower the nation’s unemployment rate.

Wall Street economists expect that employers cut a net total of 8,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate ticked up to 10.1 percent, from 10 percent.

And one local economist figures Southern California still has plenty of economic pain ahead.

“You’ll probably have a lot of retailers that will be closing their doors in January, February or March,” said Jack Kyser, founding economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. “They’ll be saying, `Well, we made it through the holidays but I don’t see any real future going forward.”‘

Many restaurants and struggling mom-and-pop stores will likely go under, he said, while other larger chains will pare down their retail operations by closing stores or slimming their work force.

As if to punctuate Kyser’s remarks, defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. announced Monday that it is moving its corporate office from Los Angeles to the Washington, D.C. area to be closer to key government customers.

The company plans to pick a site by this spring and open the office in summer 2011.

“Three hundred fifty-eight Northrop employees will be offered the opportunity to move to D.C. or they can stay and Northrop will find them jobs in other operations around here,” Kyser said. “The move will allow them to get more contracts to bring more business back to L.A.”

Northrop said about 30,000 employees will remain in California to perform research, development and manufacturing. The company’s aerospace systems sector is based in Redondo Beach.

Many businesses have suffered or gone under during the current economic downturn. But Acrylatex Coatings & Recycling is not one of them.

In fact, this Azusa-based company is thriving.

“I think we’re going to have an increase of 15 to 20 percent this year over 2009,” owner Brian Brittain said. “And last year we had a 21.5 percent increase in sales over 2008.”

Acrylatex refurbishes old, unused latex paint and recycles it into new paint that’s used for everything from covering graffiti and lining concrete burial vaults to revamping offices, apartment buildings, homes and schools.

Brittain attributes his company’s success to increased business from Los Angeles County and Caltrans.

“They are mainly paying the bills for our contractors, who bring us business,” he said. “But most of the companies I hear about are laying off or downsizing. I know one company that had 200 employees, and now they have 75.”

Acrylatex also contracts with such local communities as Covina, Azusa and Simi Valley, as well as with San Joaquin and Tulare counties. And some of the company’s paint is sold in such distant locales as Spain and South America.

Leg Avenue, an Industry-based maker of costumes for Halloween, Christmas and other occasions, is also doing well despite tough economic times.

“We are fortunate to be in an industry that celebrates a holiday that is kind of fantasy driven,” company spokeswoman Lisa Griffin said. “People really need an escape. People bought late this last year but they still bought.”

Griffin acknowledged, however, that Leg Avenue has adjusted its pricing to be more in sync with what customers can actually afford.

“We’ve adjusted the way we do business,” she said. “We sort of took a step back and reassessed what we were doing. Now we have more competitive and consumer-friendly pricing.”

There have been other signs that Southern California’s economy is beginning to pick up.

“Temporary help employment in L.A. County has shown month-to-month increases since July, and the nationwide temporary help sector is also showing gains,” Kyser said. “That’s a good indicator. The Bureau of Census will also be hiring people, but those will be short-term jobs.”

Unemployment rates in the San Gabriel Valley and Whittier areas fell in November for the second straight month, and by as much as a half-percent in some cities, according to figures released last month from the state.

Kevin Smith handles business news and editing for the Southern California News Group, which includes 11 newspapers, websites and social media channels. He covers everything from employment, technology and housing to retail, corporate mergers and business-based apps. Kevin often writes stories that highlight the local impact of trends occurring nationwide. And the focus is always to shed light on why those issues matter to readers in Southern California.

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